Many veterans are out in the streets this afternoon protesting the 2010 arrest and detainment of Bradley Manning, the Army soldier who gave WikiLeaks hundreds of thousands of classified documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The leak brought to light many details and events that embarrassed the military, such as efforts to drastically lower the public civilian death count.

This is my fully edited account of the early morning efforts of the March 19 San Francisco Day of Direct Action. In it, you’ll find decked-out riot police, a brass band, more twirlers, demonstrating in front of Chevron, a cable car, more Frank Chu, the Transamerica Pyramid, dancing in the streets, yelling in the streets, posters, signage, bloody hands, people in pink, motorcycles on sidewalks, blockaded intersections, and more — all set to the tune of “Big Ideas” by LCD Soundsystem.